Chicken Cordon Bleu with Butter Lemon Sauce

The first cookbook I received when I was first married was the Lion House Cookbook, based on the delicious recipes served at the Lion House Pantry Restaurant located on historic Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah.  Next to the restaurant is the Lion House, the home of Brigham Young, the fearless leader of the Mormon pioneer trek across the US plains starting in 1847, thus the name “Lion”.  He was the central figure in the development and growth of the Salt Lake Valley and later became the 2nd president of the Mormon church, presiding from 1847 until his death in 1877.  He also served as the first governor of the Utah territory.

The Lion House Pantry Restaurant is well known for it’s traditional american cuisine.  The menu hasn’t changed much over it’s decades of business.  One of their most famous menu offerings is the Chicken Cordon Bleu, a succulent chicken breast coated in butter and cornflake crumbs stuffed with ham and swiss cheese and smothered with a creamy lemon sauce.  Thanks to my wedding gift cookbook, I learned how to make this dish much to the surprise of my new husband, and believe it or not, my effort jump-started my adventures in cooking.  As a young bride I realized that I really enjoyed trying new things and what better recipes to try than from a well-established, tried-and-true restaurant like The Lion House.   Now after 35 years I still enjoy baking this dish for him and the family.  I’ve changed it over the years to reflect a few new cooking concepts like Panko crumbs mixed with Parmesan cheese instead of cornflake crumbs and I make the lemon sauce with butter, reduced-fat cream cheese, a little white wine (optional) and lemon juice instead of condensed cream of chicken soup and sour cream.  The white wine gives it so much amazing flavor; the alcohol content in the wine burns off as much as alcohol in flavor extracts do in baking, but I leave it as an optional ingredient for those who choose not to cook with wine, for whatever reason.

I place smoky thin-sliced ham rolled around a “finger” stick of Swiss cheese in the middle of the flattened chicken breast and roll it up, hiding the ham and cheese. Then the rolled breasts are coated in flour, an egg and then a combination of Panko crumbs, Parmesan cheese and lemon zest.  The breasts are baked at 350 degrees F for about 45 to 50 minutes.   When you cut into it, the cheese comes oozing out.  Perfection!  This is a wonderful dish to make for guests or a holiday meal like Easter or Christmas.  They take a little extra time to make, but are so worth the effort.

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